CENTURION-All roads around this small town, all the way from nearby cosmopolitan Johannesburg and other towns in the vicinity, led to the cricket ground. A profusion of Indian and Pakistani supporters, clogged the roads and entrances which ended up filling the Supersport Park to capacity, with each of its 20,000 seats taken.This smallish ground neither had the atmosphere of the Wanderers’ famous bullring nor the picturesque aura of Newlands, under the majestic shadow of Table Mountain, in Cape Town. But the cacaphony of a highly boisterous partisan crowd made the ambience electric in the extreme, and to the two teams it must have looked like a cauldron.The Indian tri-colour outnumbered the Pakistani green by around 10 to one. That there weren’t serious scuffles between the protagonists of the two sides and peace was maintained was mostly because of the strong presence of security.As a gesture of goodwill the two sides lined up before the start of the match for handshakes, and Waqar and Ganguly presented each other their team ties.This was a first of a kind ceremony during the 2003 World Cup. “Once again cricket is demonstrating its power to bring together people of different cultures, religions and races and we would like to congratulate both the Indian and Pakistani teams on their gesture to strengthen ties between their two countries”, said Dr Ali Bacher, executive director of the World Cup.But if the gesture was meant to pacify the crowd, it didn’t work as throaty slogan-mongering went in overdrive as soon as the battle was joined.

So it is over. Sri Lankan cricket runs on World Cup cycles and four years ofgrooming, planning and polishing under coach Dav Whatmore and SanathJayasuriya produced a place in the semi-finals. For a nation with heavyexpectations, judgment beckons: has the time come for sweeping changes orwill a little spring cleaning suffice?

The defeat by Australia summed up Sri Lanka’s campaign: superb bowling byChaminda Vaas, good support from the spinners, all wasted by another lousyperformance by the middle order. Sri Lanka produced one of their bestperformances in the field in the competition, carving out a winningopportunity, but ultimately didn’t have the depth of batting class necessaryto withstand the bristling Australians.

Sri Lankan hopes rested, almost entirely, upon the shoulders of five seniorplayers, men who had all been around during the 1996 finals: SanathJayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva, Marvan Atapattu, Chaminda Vaas and MuttiahMuralitharan. They dominated with bat and ball, scoring 64% of the runs andtaking 75% of the wickets during the tournament. For victory to be achievedthey had to fire again: they did with the ball but couldn’t with the bat.The disappointing truth is that four years of grooming youngsters has failedto reap substantial dividends in the tournament that mattered most. So hasthe time come to start afresh? Clearly some changes are necessary, only thescale of the shake out is in doubt. The picture is muddied by the fact thatsome of the players that disappointed – Russel Arnold and Mahela Jayawardenein particular, who scored a paltry 113 runs in 15 innings between them – hadperformed consistently in the pre-ceding years. That being the case, is itwise to now cast them aside?

In Mahela Jayawardene’s case, there is clearly a need to keep faith with aclass player. You don’t throw batters onto the scrap heap after a poor sixmonths when they average close to fifty in Test cricket. But Jayawardene’sslump is a concern. In 2001 he averaged 46.66 in one-day cricket, scoringthree centuries and seven fifties. Since then his productivity has declineddramatically, with an average of 28.25 in 2002 and 14.54 in 2003 thus far.Possibly, a rest is required. He has been struggling with long-term backinjury and his mind has also been busy with off-field matters, particularlythe team’s HOPE fund raising appeal for a new cancer hospital. A break mightallow him to re-charge his batteries and let his focus sharpen. Too manymonths spent idling in hotel rooms is not good for anyone.

Russel Arnold’s position is more vulnerable. Already rumours are circlingColombo that his time is up. His one-day average is still respectable at36.32 but it is dipping fast. During the last 12 months he has averaged28.96, and in the first three months of 2003 only 13.09. Despite offeringvalue with his under-rated off-spin and athletic fielding, Arnold’s place isclearly in danger. However, he also deserves further up the order. All toofrequently he has been stranded with the tail, left to pick up the piecesafter the middle order has collapsed.Kumar Sangakkara’s place in the side should be guaranteed despite arelatively lean tournament (176 runs at 25.14). His wicket-keeping was oftenragged and occasionally awful, meaning the selectors may well now opt for aspecialist pair of gloves, but his batting continues an upward curve with anaverage of 31.6 during the past 12 months. With Hashan Tillakaratne beingtoo old to last till the next World Cup, and de Silva having retired,Sangakkara deserves an extended chance in the number position, a spot wherehe has thus far thrived in Test cricket.

This all leaves the selectors needing to fill two spots in the top seven,possibly three if Jayawardene is to rest. With no obvious alternativecurrently available, Romesh Kaluwitharana can expect to be recalled. MichaelVandort, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chamara Silva are all names that will beconsidered. Avishka Gunawardene and Jehan Mubarak may also have a chance.The names of all-rounders Thilan Samaraweera and Kaushal Loukuarachchi, bothof who had successful series against the ECB Academy, deserve to be throwninto the hat. And if you were really brave you blood Jeevan Mendis, a youngleft-hander with prodigious talent. Unfortunately, the truth is that thereis no outstanding candidate that leaps out and demands selection.In the bowling department, the selectors cannot make wholesale changes. Vaasand Muralitharan, injury and enthusiasm permitting, can remain the pillarsof the attack until the next World Cup and beyond. Clearly Dilhara Fernandoand Prabath Nissanka have immense promise and only by playing can theydevelop. However, a full-time bowling coach, preferably Rumesh Ratnayake, ifhe can be teased away from his full-time job with the Asian Cricket Council,is required.

And, finally, there is the issue of captaincy. Jayasuriya’s consensualapproach had advantages in the post-Ranatunga years but increasingly hisleadership has lacked control and direction on the field. He is unlikely tobe sacked, boasting as he does strong support in the Sports Ministry, butthere is a growing feeling that he will consider stepping down anyhow andhanding over to his vice-captain. Atapattu, a private and somewhat aloofcricketer, has already displayed his on-field leadership credentials duringSri Lanka’s last Test at Centurion, calmly and astutely leading Sri Lanka tothe verge of a famous victory. However, he will need a strong communicatoras his henchman, someone to glue the team together and ensure bonhomiewithin the ranks: Chaminda Vaas stands out as the ideal candidate.

So, in the end, we have reached for the duster rather than the broom. Theretirement of De Silva – who has turned down a plea from the interimcommittee to keep going for another six months – and the likely employmentof Tillakartne as a Test specialist again, provides an opportunity for twofresh (or indeed old) faces. Another might be tried if Arnold or Jayawardeneare rested or dropped but more wholesale changes should not be expected nordemanded. All is not well with the Sri Lanka team but all is not wrongeither.

New Zealand’s tour of Sri Lanka is all go at this stage and it appears it would take a severe downturn in the SARS situation to stop it.New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive Martin Snedden, whose time at the helm has been tumultuous to say the least with his start occurring only a month before the September 11 attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania with his team en route to a tour of Pakistan, has taken expert advice on the SARS threat.The situation was being treated seriously by New Zealand Cricket and players are to be briefed before leaving New Zealand next week.”At the moment Sri Lanka is SARS free.”The only possible risk to the team is in transit or at Singapore Airport where the team will stop over for four hours. We have received advice on sensible precautions to take during the stopover and aboard the plane,” he said.”According to expert advice there is little risk of contact with an infected person during the short stop over or on the flight.”We will continue to monitor the situation and to take appropriate precautions,” he said.

Hampshire have made the surprising inclusion of a third left-arm quick bowler for their fourth Frizzell County Championship Division Two fixture of the season at Bristol, starting on Wednesday.James Tomlinson has been added to the unchanged 11 that drew the previous Championship match against Yorkshire a fortnight ago.The Winchester-born left-armer joins Wasim Akram and Alan Mullally in the tri-pronged south-paw attack, as he is free from his studies and playing duties with Cardiff University.Derek Kenway is recalled to the starting line-up, having been dropped for the C&G Trophy fixture with Sussex last week. His scores of 35 and 68 against Oxford UCCE over the weekend having restored the selectors confidence in him.Hampshire squad of 12: Derek Kenway, John Crawley (capt), Simon Katich, Robin Smith, Will Kendall, Nic Pothas (w-k), Dimitri Mascarenhas, Wasim Akram, Shaun Udal, Chris Tremlett, Alan Mullally, James Tomlinson.

Sri Lanka 243 for 7 (Atapattu 99, Jayawardene 35) beat Shell Academy XI 128 (Muralitharan 3-5) by 115 runsSri Lanka won an easy tour game against the Shell Cricket Academy to begin their tour of West Indies in fine style. Leading from the front, Marvan Atapattu, Sri Lanka’s one-day captain, made 99 and Muttiah Muralitharan returned figures of 3 for 5 as Sri Lanka won by 115 runs.Atapattu won the toss and opted to bat, after which Sri Lanka made 243 for 7 in their 50 overs. Atapattu’s 99 was the centerpiece of the innings, though worryingly, none of the other batsmen managed to convert their starts.The Shell Academy batsmen were never up for the chase, and had no answers to Muralitharan. Five of Muralitharan’s seven overs were maidens, and he stifled the Shell Academy batsmen completely in the middle overs, snuffing out all resistance.Prabath Nissanka was the first to strike for Sri Lanka, getting rid of Kurt Wilkinson for just 5. Krishna Arjune (17) and Dwayne Bravo (12) showed some spunk in a 32-run stand, but Arjune was out with the score on 40, and three more wickets fell on 44.After that, it was routine. Matthew Sinclair, the wicketkeeper, top-scored with 22, but the Shell Academy XI only managed to crawl to 128 for 9 in their 50 overs.The quality of the opposition notwithstanding, it was a good start to a tour which doesn’t allow much time for acclimatisation. The Cable & Wireless one-day series between Sri Lanka and West Indies starts this weekend.

Lightning struck twice in a week as a thrilling last wicket partnership between James Manning and Giles White again rescued the Academy from enbarrassment; failing to secure a winning draw by less than .1 of a run.South Wilts won an important toss and elected to take first use of a pitch that didn’t play as well as it looked; often subjecting the batsmen to “tennis ball” bounce. Having lost opener Rowe in the first over with no runs on the board, South Wilts made steady, if unspectacular, progress against a persevering Academy attack.Jamie Glasson rather rode his luck in making a valuable 74 (136 balls, 11 fours), supported in the main by Paul Draper (34) and latterly Tim Lamb with a well-organized 47 who became the second man to be run out taking on the arm of Mitchell Stokes on the deep cover boundary. South Wilts used the maximum number of overs allowed; Matthew Metcalfe (4-54) being the pick of the Academy bowlers, well supported by the leg spin of Ian Hilsum (2-56), having his first long bowl of the season.Again the young Hawks made a disastrous start, being at various stages 27-3 and 58-6; only Tom Burrows (22) achieving double figures. However, a 7th wicket stand of 37 between Hilsum (37 in 47 balls, 1 five, 6 fours) and David Griffiths pushed the Academy towards respectability.When Hilsum was brilliantly caught at short third man Hampshire were soon back in deep trouble at 114-9. Again the impressive Giles White joined his junior partner James Manning in another match-turning partnership; White mixing aggression with defence and farming of the strike in the, by now, somewhat cold and gloomy conditions for the first week in July. This was carried out so successfully against the tiring opening bowlers Senneck (4-66) and Seeary (3-48), who bowled 36 of the 54 overs between them, that the last over -bravely bowled by spinner and captain Draperwas reached with the Academy requiring another 8 runs to achieve a winning draw.White took 3 off the first ball before Manning used up another 3 balls in securing another single. The Academy Captain managed to again paddle-sweep 2 more runs off the fifth ball before only succeeding in on driving a single off the last in scenes of great excitement.Having put on 79 runs for the tenth wicket Manning and White lived to rue a decision of “one short” given by umpire Harrison as the Academy pair attempted a swift 2 early on in their partnership; a decision that meant the extra 5 points for a winning draw went to South Wilts.

It may have the look of the biggest mismatch in history, but Justin Langer insisted Australia’s two-Test series against Bangladesh is important for the game.Despite Bangladesh’s woeful Test record: 18 losses out of 19 matches, Langer said he was looking forward to the series between the world’s top and bottom-ranked teams, which starts at the Marrara Oval on Friday.Langer said: “I will certainly be respectful to the Bangladeshis, they’ve earned the right to play Test cricket.” He continued: “I’m looking forward to (it), particularly playing in Darwin and Cairns, it’s a good opportunity for cricket."He added: “It’s great for cricket in general. I think it’s important not to look at your own backyard, but it’s always a bigger picture. It’s great to have Bangladesh playing a Test match against Australia.”Talking on the new drop-in Darwin pitch, Langer said it looked magnificent: “The wicket looks nice and flat. I’ve played at a lot worse Test stadiums. It’s going to be a great place to play.”Meanwhile, John Buchanan, the Australia coach, has told his team to ease off the sledging if they want to command the respect their achievements deserve.Speaking ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, Buchanan said: “The players concerned let their team down and they let themselves down. They lose respect and team-mates are distracted.”This series follows Australia’s tour of the Caribbean, which was marred by ugly and bitter confrontations, including Glenn McGrath and Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Steve Waugh and Brian Lara.

When Sourav Ganguly walked into the NCA premises – bulky equipment “coffin” in tow – he was surrounded by so many flashbulbs and microphones that you wondered if it was Oscar night, rather than just the start of the Indian cricket team’s preparatory camp. The man Geoffrey Boycott likes to call royalty was attired in a grey T-shirt and khakis, and there was ample evidence that the training programme prescribed for the off-season had been followed. Like most of his players, who had departed to the team hotel 15 minutes earlier, Ganguly looked in fighting trim, a welcome change from the days when some players arrived at camp as Mr Blobby impersonators.Sachin Tendulkar had made a quiet exit from the gymnasium minutes earlier, with the light-footed air of a man who has lost a couple of kilos. Virender Sehwag had followed him down the stairs with a smile on his face. If the back injury that forced him to cut short his stint with Leicestershire was hurting, he certainly wasn’t letting on. Harbhajan Singh was one of the last to leave, along with Anil Kumble, who was at the receiving end of a couple of questions about the condition of Srinath Bhai.Those who had just returned from the A-team tour were congratulated by the others, with Kumble having an encouraging word or two for Ambati Rayudu. Ashish Nehra, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Irfan Pathan Junior all looked in mint condition, ready for two weeks of hard slog that will set them up for what promises to be a momentous season. After five minutes of media interaction, characterised by much bonhomie and back-slapping, the players were quietly guided away to the team bus. Having been briefed about the aims of the camp this morning, they will be back in the afternoon for the serious business of fitness tests. Once those assessments are complete, the training sessions will start in earnest on Saturday, with fielding drills also high on the agenda.While the players understandably hogged most of the limelight, some of it was left to fall on Gregory King, India’s latest fitness trainer. Adrian Le Roux’s successor, who earned his spurs over six years with the Border Bears in East London, had mischievous eyes and the general air of a prankster. But once he started talking, there was no mucking about.He said he’d met a couple of the players earlier, when he came to India for his interview, but this was his first opportunity to interact with the whole group. “The best trainers needn’t necessarily be cricketers themselves,” he told you solemnly, having mentioned his background in B-side cricket.There would be no major earthquakes on the training front. “The players were very comfortable with the systems Adrian had in place,” he said. “And the boys have been following the training schedules given to them before they went home for the summer. As for the India A boys, most of them will already be match-hard after the England tour.”It’s a great opportunity to work with such a talented bunch,” he added before excusing himself, and leaving the stage to John Wright. Wright was unfazed by the numbers involved at the camp. Wasn’t 36 players a dozen too many? “It’s not an issue if you plan it properly,” he said. “I’d like to think of it as an opportunity to get to know them all, and figure out where they’re at in the fitness scheme of things. Andrew [Leipus] will also be spending time with them assessing any injuries they may have picked up.”Neither Wright nor Ganguly was overkeen to talk about the New Zealand series, or indulge in speculation about the nature of the pitches likely to be used. “After playing 16 Test matches last year, we needed this break,” said Ganguly, “but I’m quite excited about getting back on the cricket pitch. The camp will give me a chance to interact with the younger players and study our bench strength.”There were also words for encouragement for Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, who are going through indifferent county stints with Yorkshire and Derbyshire. “County cricket is not easy,” he said, perhaps thinking back to the mixed time he had at Lancashire in 2000. “But it’ll be a good learning experience for them.”And as the notebooks were put away and pens capped, he strode off, giving the impression of a man very much in control of things. The hard work, however, is just about to begin.

All Today’s Yesterdays – September 29 down the years

September 28 | September 30

1934
The birth of the first spinner to take 300 Test wickets. With his lissomfigure and unusually long fingers, Lance Gibbs allied pronounced spinand bounce to a fierce accuracy. He took 309 wickets in 79 Tests -including 18 five-fors – all the while conceding his runs at astaggering 1.99 per over. Brave and indefatigable, his best spell camebetween 1960 and 1962. He was left out of the first two Tests inAustralia, but Gibbs took three wickets in four balls at Sydney and ahat-trick in the next Test at Adelaide. The following winter he returnedthe remarkable figures of 53.3-37-38-8 against India in Barbados, alleight wickets coming in a 15- over spell at a cost of just six runs. Itwas a performance he never bettered.

1941
The bank clerk who went to war was born on this day. That’s how David Steele was described when he was called up to make his Test debut at theage of 33 against Lillee and Thomson in 1975. Grey-haired andbespectacled, Steele stood up to all the Australians could throw at himand made 365 runs at 60.83. “Test cricket,” said the Wisden Almanack,”had not enjoyed such a romantic story for decades.” Steele became ahugely popular figure and was even voted BBC Sports Personality of theYear in 1975. It was also his benefit year, and Steele received a meatchop for every first-class run he scored from a local butcher. By theend of the summer, he had 1756 of them.

1957
Why did Chris Broad who was born today, play only 25 Tests? His averageof 39.55 is higher than those of Atherton, Gatting and Lamb but Broadnever got close to establishing himself as they did. An economical lefthander with an ungainly bottom-out stance, Broad came of age inAustralia when England last regained the Ashes in 1986-87. He madehundreds in three consecutive Tests and was made “International Playerof the Season” but disciplinary problems the following winter wouldultimately cost him dear. He refused to walk after being given out atLahore; two months later he smashed down his stumps in the BicentennialTest at Sydney. His poor fielding, abrasive character and persistentback problems did not help either. Despite six hundreds in his previous18 Tests, Broad was dropped during 1988 and played only twice morebefore joining Mike Gatting’s rebel tour to South Africa.

1983
Insomniacs the world over celebrated as Indian Aunshuman Gaekwadcompleted the slowest doublecentury in Tests, against Pakistan atJullundur. He took 652 minutes and 426 balls to reach his milestone – atthe time it was the slowest in firstclass cricket as well – as thesecond Test petered out into a draw.

1934
The chinaman bowler Lindsay Kline was born in Victoria. Herepresented Australia in just 13 Tests, nine of them overseas where hewas notably successful (31 wickets at 15.35). He took a hat-trick in hissecond Test, in Cape Town in 1957-58, but is best remembered for facingthe last ball of the first tied Test, against West Indies at Brisbane inthe classic 1960-61 series. He also denied West Indies for 100 minutesas Australia held on for a draw at Adelaide in the same series. It washis last act in Test cricket.

1995
A remarkable performance from Salim Elahi led Pakistan to a nine-wicketvictory over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international at Gujranwala.Only 19, Elahi stroked an unbeaten 102 on his ODI debut at a time whenhe had not even played a first-class match. And he reached three figuresin the grand manner with a straight six off Pramodya Wickramasinghe,thus becoming the fourth person, after Dennis Amiss, Des Haynes and AndyFlower, to score a hundred on his ODI debut.

1950
But for his namesake Deryck, the West Indian David Murray, whowas born today, would surely have played many more than 19 Tests. He wasa talented wicketkeeper and a capable batsman who made three Testfifties and a first-class double hundred, at Jamshedpur on the 1978-79tour of India. He took over from Deryck Murray – they were not related -in 1980-81 and was briefly No. 1. But he was banned from cricket in theWest Indies after playing in South Africa, and his last Test appearancecame at Sydney in 1981-82.

1997
At Bulawayo, the second Test between Zimbabwe and New Zealand ended in adraw, with the series ending 0-0. But this was no bore draw. Set 286 towin after a sporting declaration from Zimbabwean captain AlistairCampbell, New Zealand closed on 275 for 8, having looked set for victoryat 207 for 3. The match was notable for Guy Whittall’s unbeaten firstinnings 203 and legspinner Adam Huckle’s unlikely match figures of 11for 255.

Other birthdays
1930 Ramnath Kenny (India)

Jagmohan Dalmiya, who was re-elected as president of the BCCI for a third term on Saturday, has warned the ICC that they will be taken to court unless India’s share of World Cup money is released by November 1 at the latest.A lengthy contracts dispute threatened India’s participation in the World Cup, as the personal endorsements of India’s players clashed with the official sponsors of the tournament. The ICC eventually negotiated a compromise with the BCCI, but subsequently withheld India’s money, owing to damage claims from its financial agencies, the Global Cricket Corporation and World Sport Nimbus (GCC, WSN).The GCC has made a claim of US$47 million for lost sponsorship, a figure which Dalmiya described as “frivolous and fictitious”. “We will wait till Nov 1 for our share of $6.5 million along with the interest. If we do not hear from the IDI [ICC’s financial wing] by this date, we will move the court of arbitration.”Dalmiya also complained about the crowded international schedule which the ICC has put in place. “We’re concerned with the amount of cricket being played. The ICC schedule is too crammed. The 10-year program requiring each country to play two home and away series against every opponent during this period is a punishing schedule. The players are getting no respite under the present structure.” Dalmiya said that the Indian board had suggested spreading out the program over a 12- or 14-year period.Dalmiya informed that the BCCI had also put on hold an ICC proposal to have the Indian team play two tri-series tournaments in the United States, as part of an attempt to popularise the game there. “The ICC wants India to play two tri-series in the United States under its ‘Project USA’ program, but the board has decided to wait until the pending issues with the ICC are cleared.”